When you think of the Philadelphia Flyers teams that won consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975, Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Dave Schultz, Rick MacLeish and Bill Barber probably first pop into your mind, among others.

But in the 50 years since the Flyers’ last championship, there’s one man who clearly became the face of those irrepressible Broad Street Bullies.

Bernard Marcel Parent.

Bernie was everywhere. Mixing with people at charity golf events around Philadelphia, waving to crowds as the grand marshal of Ocean City’s water parade, known as Night in Venice, and volunteering to feed homeless people in the city.

Always with a smile. Always with selflessness. Always wanting to make people happy.

That’s why the news hit me like a ton of bricks Sunday morning. Bernie Parent, one of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history, had died at age 80.

Hall Of Fame Person

Bernie was more than a Hall of Fame goalie. He was a friend to everyone, a caring, Hall of Fame person. He always had a smile and a joke to tell. Always wanted to know what was happening in your life. Always.

Lou Nolan, the Flyers’ iconic public-address announcer, was at two charity events with Parent last week, including one for support dogs.

“He was always happy,” Nolan said on Sunday. “And when he met Gini and they got married….he really enjoyed life. He had a way of enjoying life to the fullest and taking everyone around him and allowing them to enjoy life more.”

If you didn’t know about Parent’s storied past, he never brought it up. He was the most unpretentious superstar I have ever had the honor to call my friend.

Bernie would text me on Father’s Day to wish me the best. Just because that was Bernie.

I talked to him a few days ago about the upcoming book I wrote with Jeff Hare called “Bullies.” Bernie said he’d be happy to do a book signing with me before an upcoming Flyers game. He offered his help, well, just because he was Bernie.

When we talked, he said his back had recently been surgically repaired for the third time and that he was going to start rehabbing it in October. He cracked some jokes – some that I won’t repeat (for now) – and was his jovial self. He said his back, injured when he was struck by a drunk driver in a car accident many years ago, was starting to improve, he claimed.

Enduring The Pain

But when I talked with his former teammate, Joe Watson, he said Bernie was in a lot of pain on Friday when he attended an event with several former Flyers.

“I saw him Friday night. Jimmy (Watson) and I, and Bob Kelly and Brad Marsh were with him at the University of Delaware. We were giving all kinds of Flyers stuff away,” Watson said on Sunday afternoon. “Bernie was having a hard time getting around, and you could see he was in pain when he tried to sit down. He had something where he could give himself a shot of medicine and it would give him some relief.

“But we had some laughs and had some pictures taken. Even though he was in terrible pain, he still had some funny things to say,” Watson said. “That was Bernie.”

Watson met Parent in 1963 when they played in Minneapolis, then a Boston Bruins farm team.

“We had Cesare Maniago and another goalie in the net, but they got hurt, so they called up Bernie,” Watson said. “And Bernie was 18 years old, and he came up and we won both games that weekend. Stood on his bloody head for cripesake.”

 When they played together with the Flyers, Watson said, Parent was the guy who kept things loose with his jokes and observations.

“Some of them, you can’t print,” Watson said.

“He was one of my greatest friends,” Nolan said. “I’m just at a loss right now. I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s a sad day for hockey and for the Flyers,” said Barber, Parent’s long-ago teammate and a Hall of Fame left winger. “I can’t speak highly enough about him.”

Stun The Hockey World

Led by Parent, the Flyers won Cups in 1974 and 1975, beating Boston and Buffalo, respectively. The stunning win over the Bruins gave the Flyers the championship just seven years into their existence, a record that stood until Vegas took the Cup in its sixth year in 2023.

“He was our salvation in our first Cup,” Watson said. “We would have never won without him. The second Cup, we were cocky and we were good – and we knew we could win. But we certainly wouldn’t have won the first one without Bernie. He made a save on Ken Hodge late in Game 6 – that was labelled for the far corner. But out comes Bernie’s right foot and he kicks that damn thing out of the friggin’ air. Thank God because that game would have gone into overtime, and who knows what would have happened.”

The Flyers won that Cup-clinching game, 1-0. Parent was also in the net when the Flyers clinched the Cup in 1975 with a 2-0 Game 6 win over Buffalo.

In both of those seasons, Parent was named the Conn Smythe winner as the league’s best playoff performer.

Watson said Parent was one of the most positive people he has ever met.

“The earth could be falling down and he would find something funny to say,” he said. “Just a great teammate. A fun teammate. I wish some athletes could see how Bernie was.”

Watson recalled a story that he said encapsulated Parent’s fun-loving nature.

“After our first season in 1968, Bernie’s in Montreal and he wants to come to Smithers (B.C., Watson’s hometown) to get a black bear. So he drives seven days to get to Smithers.”

Watson had a friend who was a train engineer. He bravely allowed Parent in the train’s engine. While the train was moving,  Bernie put his rifle out the window and fired.

“The black bear was moving across the tracks, and he hits it. He hit it so many times that the damn thing couldn’t move anymore. It was full of lead,” said Watson, laughing at the memory. “I think the bear died of fright more than anything else.”

The kicker to the story: Bernie put the dead bear on the hood of his car. “And he’s driving down the street drinking apricot brandy with my dad and parading this bear all around while flies and mosquitos and dogs are chasing it. They did this for two friggin’ days. Just drove around Smithers showing off the bear.”

Watson paused.

“There was just so much humor in that man.”

Rest in peace, Bernie. You were one of a kind. A great goalie and a wonderful humanitarian. Philadelphia will be hard-pressed to find someone who did more for the city, on and off the ice.

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